Article by Antonio Pasolini
(3BL Media/Just Means) – Can you imagine getting waste materials such as wood, office and cardboard paper, organic waste, in short, any type of cellulose fiber, and turn it into a resilient, super green material for a wide range of applications? Well, someone has done just that and turned it into a successful business with clients such as Google and Whole Foods.
The company is called Noble, it is based in San Diego, California, and was founded by Robert Noble, a veteran in sustainable architecture and design. The material in question, which has the profile of a sustainability superstar, is Ecor. Developed in partnership with the USDA, it is 100 percent recycled, 100 percent recyclable, cradle-to-cradle certified and replaces wood, particleboard, fiberboard, MDF, aluminum, plastic, cardboard and other composites.
Ecor is manufactured by adding water to the fiber to make it stick. The resulting brew is then submitted to pressure and heat and, what’s even better, it remains completely free of toxic materials such as formaldehyde or petroleum. The ‘magic’ is in the technology Noble uses to process this material while keeping it clean.
Noble markets a wide range of Ecor variations, which can be used for raw panels, consumer goods such as eyewear and domestic utensils, furniture and finishes, displays and containers. Noble is developing the product for construction as well.
The raw material can be sourced from a range of settings, including farms, urban areas and forests, which gives the company geographical flexibility and makes it possible to deliver locally, keeping transportation footprint low, as in the case of one of the deal packages Noble offers. Called YourCOR, it allows customers to recycle their own raw material stream, such as wood cuttings, offcuts, agricultural waste, etc) to create new ECOR panels and products for their own use. Talk about true lifecycle resource management!
Alternatively, Noble offers the ReCOR Program, through which it will recover ECOR panels and products from clients after use at no cost. In some cases, the company even pays the client for panels that have not been treated with any type of toxic adhesives, resins, paints, etc.
Besides having a game-changing product in its hands, Noble has also drafted in some heavyweight industry leaders to take the business forward. These include Anders Moberg, past CEO of IKEA Group and past International President of Home Depot, Rene Hausler, past CEO of IKEA North America and CEO of Noble Environmental Europe, Don Moody,former president of NUCONN Steel and Jay Potter, CEO of Greencore Capital.
To find out more about Noble and Ecor, visit their website linked to below.
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